The American Tobacco industry certainly has had an impact on both commerce and Wall Street, as well as the health of the citizens of this country. In researching another piece the other day, it hit me that it
has been 8 years since 7 top executives of the largest tobacco companies in America swore before Congress that smoking was not addictive. That same year, California became the first state to ban smoking in public buildings. So I thought it would be interesting to look back at some key dates in the fight between Big Tobacco and the federal government. What follows is offered without opinion, except you all should be struck with the timeline. "What took so long?"

Smoking was considered an inexpensive method to deal with despair during the Great Depression and so its use exploded. Health issues were discussed, but nothing conclusive had been proven, smokers were happy, and thus there was no reason to come down on the industry. And as you might imagine, use then rose 66% during World War II, increasing a further 16% from 1946-50.

But the tobacco industry hit a brick wall in 1953. The anti-cigarette movement gained credence with the widespread distribution of a 1952 Reader's Digest article, "Cancer by the Carton," which was a powerful indictment of the practice, claiming that smoking caused lung cancer. Tobacco spokesmen denied there was any link.

Following are some other key dates and statistics leading up to the crucial 1964 federal study.

--June 6, 1960, the American Heart Association issued a report claiming that coronary death rates "were found to be from 50% to 150% higher among heavy cigarette smokers" than among nonsmokers.

--September 8, 1961, the Journal of the American Medical Association found that there was statistical evidence connecting smoking and heart disease.

--May 1962, President Kennedy was asked about health hazards attributed to smoking. "That matter is sensitive enough and the stock market is in sufficient difficulty without my giving you an answer which is not based on complete information, which I don't have." A few weeks later, after studying material sent him by the Public Health Service, the President ordered the fact- finding study that was released on January 11, 1964.

--June 8, 1963, the American Heart Association opened its drive against cigarette smoking, the first voluntary public agency to do so.

--January 11, 1964, the Surgeon General's report on cigarette smoking was released, which found that the use of cigarettes "contributes substantially to mortality from certain specific diseases and to the overall death rate." See below.

[New York Times, Jan. 12, 1964. Reported by Walter Sullivan.]

"The long-awaited Federal report on the effects of smoking found today that the use of cigarettes contributed so substantially to the American death rate that 'appropriate remedial action' was called for.

"The committee that made the report gave no specific recommendations for action. But health officials said that possible steps might include educational campaigns, the requirement that cigarette packages carry warnings and control of advertising.

"The report dealt a severe blow to the rear-guard action fought in recent years by the tobacco industry. It dismissed, one by one, the arguments raised to question the validity of earlier studies.

"Combining the results of many surveys, the study panel found no doubt about the role of cigarette smoking in causing cancer in the lungs.

"In men who smoke cigarettes, the death rate from that disease is almost 1,000 per cent higher than in nonsmokers, it said.

"...[The Tobacco Institute rejected the report, saying it was not the last word on smoking and health. The three major broadcasting networks said they would review their policies on tobacco advertising in the light of the report.]"

Findings of the 1964 report:

--Lung cancer deaths, less than 3,000 in 1930, rose to 41,000 in
1962.

--"Nearly 70 million people in the United States consume tobacco regularly. Cigarette consumption in the United States has increased markedly since the turn of the century, when per capita consumption was less than 50 cigarettes a year. Since 1910, when cigarette consumption per person (15 years and older) was 138, it rose to 1,365 in 1930, to 1,828 in 1940, to 3,322 in 1950, and to a peak of 3,986 in 1961."

Separately, I saw this item in the 1/12/64 edition of the Times, author unknown.

"The Government report on smoking dramatizes a human and social issue.

"The report says that an $8 billion a year industry, which provides jobs and incomes for thousands of people, is based on a product damaging to human health.

"This industry pays $3.3 billion a year in taxes.

"But the industry is also costing American families perhaps $10 billion a year because so many men, so many wage-earners die too soon because of cigarette smoking, a statistician estimates.

"The statistician, Dr. Louis I. Dublin (notes):

" 'From the public-interest point of view, the tobacco industry is far from a glorious asset,' Dr. Dublin declares. 'In balance, when liabilities are placed side by side the assets, the evidence is good that from the public-interest point of view, the industry is bankrupt.'"

--June 24, 1964, the Federal Trade Commission announced that health warnings would be required on cigarette packages starting in 1965.

--April 1, 1970, a bill banning cigarette advertising on radio and television, effective January 1, 1971, was signed by President Nixon.

--January 11, 1979, the Surgeon General labeled cigarette smoking the "single most important environmental factor contributing to early death."

Then in 1994 came the extraordinary scene of the tobacco executives denying that smoking was not addictive. Two years later, the Liggett Group became the first of the big five tobacco companies to settle a class action lawsuit concerning the effect of smoking on health.

Sources:

"When Giants Stumble," Robert Sobel
"The Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates," edited by
Gorton Carruth
New York Times archives: "Great Stories of the Century."

Brian Trumbore

**Due to travel, Wall Street History will return March 1st.